Rotatable mail box



Oct. 29, 1968 M WOOD ETAL 3,407,997

ROTATABLE MAIL BOX Filed' Nov. 22, 1966 INVENTORS CLYDE M. WOOD DORIS R.WOOD ATTORNEYS United States Patent O 3,407,997 ROTATABLE MAIL BOX ClydeM. Wood and Doris R. Wood, both of 1100 SOM Center Road, MayfieldHeights, Ohio 44124 Filed Nov. 22, 1966, Ser. No. 596,332 7 Claims. (Cl.232-39) ABSTRACT F THE DISCLOSURE A balanced, readily rotatable, mailboxmounting comprising a rotatable member adapted for attachment to themailbox and a stationary member adapted for mounting on a support, withthe stationary member having spaced spring loaded detents projectingupwardly there from on diametrically opposite sides of the vertical axisthereof and with the detents coacting with complementarily positionedopenings in the underside of the rotatable member, for releasablyholding the rotatable member in predetermined positions with respect tothe stationary member, thus facing the mailbox either toward the roadwayor facing the mailbox 180 degrees in the opposite direction. Concentricrecesses are formed in the rotatable member about the aforesaidopenings, for causing automatic indexing of the rotatable member withrespect to the stationary member through a range olf approximately 90degrees at each end of the box, so that a force does not have to becontinuously applied to the mailbox in order to accomplish the full180-degree rotary movement of the box. A headed pivot pin extendsaxially between the rotatable and stationary members with the pin havinga tapered surface at its lower end, with a transversely extending studon the stationary member coacting with the tapered surface to hold therotatable and stationary members together 'against the resistance tocompression of the spring loaded detents. The rotatable member has anelongated generally horizontal bracket secured thereto with the brackethaving downturned corner portions for convenient fastening of themailbox to the bracket, A brightly-colored decal may be secured to theclosure door of the box for indicating to the resident that the box hasbeen rotated from a roadway facing position 180 degrees to a rearwardlyfacing position. In one embodiment the mailbox has a door yat both endsthereof rfor providing access to the box from either end.

This invention relates in general to mailboxes and the like and moreparticularly to a support `for a mailbox which enables rotation orpivoting off the box from a forwardly facing position to a rearwardlyfacing position and vice versa.

It is known in the prior art to fxedly mount a maibox on a support, Iandalso to swiugably mount #a mailbox on a support. The swingable type ofmounting is generally for the purpose of enabling the box to be struckby a vehicle and to swing with the blow without causing material damageto the box and/or to the supporting structure. Such mailboxes aregenerally mounted on a post or a support adjacent the periphery of 4aroadway, with the box extending outwardly suiiiciently toward theroadway to enable a mail carrier to deposit and remove mail from the boxwithout getting out of a mail carrying vehicle.

In conventionally mounted mailboxes someone who is attempting to removemail or deposit mail into the box must generally step into the roadwayto accomplish this, and many times stepping into the road-way ishazardous due to the ow of traiiic therealong. Moreover, in those areaswhere snow plows form large piles of snow along a roadway, such snowpiles may present a considerable obstacle to access to a roadway facingmailbox.

The present invention provides a rotatable or swingice able mailboxmounting which is operative lfor ready swinging of the mailbox Afrom aforwardly facing or road facing position to a rearwardly facingposition, and including means thereon for relcasably holding the mailboxin either of said positions, so that the access opening of the box canbe conveniently moved from a road facing position to a reawardly facingposition, for removal or insertion of mail from and into the box, andwithout the necessity of stepping into the roadway to-accomplish this.

Accordingly, an object of the invention is to provide a novel rotatableor swingable mailbox mounting.

Another object of the invention is to provide a mailbox mounting whichmay be easily attached to a conventional mailbox, and which includesmeans thereon for releasably holding the mailbox in a forwardly or roadfacing position, and in a rearwardly facing position with respect to thesupport.

A rfurther object of the invention is to provide a rotatable orswingable mailbox mounting of the above mentioned type which includesmeans for automatically indexing the box into either a forwardly, roadfacing position or a rearwardly facing position after predeterminedrotary or swingable movement of the box, and vWithout the necessity ofapplying a manual rotary force to the box for a full of movement, inorder to switch the position of the box from said forwardly facing tosaid rearwardly facing position or vice versa.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a mailbox mountingof the aforementioned type which is rotatable through a full 360, andwhich includes spring loaded detents coacting with a rotatable memberadapted for attachment to the mailbox proper, for predeterminedpositioning of the mailbox with respect to a post or supporting member.

A further object of the invention is to provide a mailbox mountingcomprising a lower stationary member mounting spring loaded detent meanstherein, and an upper rotary member coupled to said lower member andadapted for rotation with respect thereto, with said upper member havingmeans thereon for attaching the upper member to a mailbox, and with theupper member including means adapted Ifor coaction with the detent meansfor releasably maintaining the mailbox in predetermined positions withrespect to the lower member.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a mailbox mountingwhich is of rugged construction and which will eectively rotatably mounta mailbox on a post or the like support, whereby the mailbox may berotated a full 360 and wherein means is provided for releasablypositioning the mailbox in a forwardly facing position with respect tothe support and in a rearwardly facing position with respect to thesupport.

A still .further object of the invention is to provide a novel mailboxwhich has access openings in both ends thereof, and adapted for use witha rotary or swingable mounting arrangement of the above type, wherebythe maibox can be swung about a generally vertical axis through at leastapproximately 180.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from thefollowing description taken in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings wherein:

FIGURE l is a side elevational, broken view of a mailbox mounted on aswingable or rotatable mounting in accordance with the instantinvention;

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged fragmentary, partially sectioned view of themailbox mounting illustrated in FIG- URE 1;

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged top plan view of the mailbox as supported on themounting of FIGURE l;

FIGURE 4 is a side elevational view of the upper rotary member of theswingable mailbox mountinng;

FIGURE 5 is a bottom plan view of the FIGURE 4 member, and showing inparticular the recesses formed therein adapted to receive the springloaded detents illustrated in FIGURE 2, for automatically urging themailbox into predetermined positions on a support;

FIGURE 6 is a top plan View of the lower stationary member of therotatable mailbox mounting, and showing the openings therein forreceiving the spring loaded detents illustrated in FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 7 is a top plan view of a mounting plate which is adapted forattachment to the rotary member of the mailbox mounting for subsequentattachment to the mailbox proper;

FIGURE 8 is a generally diagrammatic perspective view illustrating therotary mounting of the invention as attached to the underside of amail-box; and

FIGURE 9 illustrates a modified form of mailbox secured to the rotarymounting of the invention, and more particularly a mailbox having anaccess opening at both ends thereof.

Referring now again to the drawings, reference number 10 designates amailbox which may be of conventional construction including a housingportion 12 having an access door 14 pivotally mounted thereto as at 16.The bottom Wall 18 of the housing may be recessed in the conventionalmanner as shown, with such bottom wall being adapted for attachment tothe rotatable mailbox mounting referred to by reference numeral 20.Bottom wall 18 may be of conventional corrugated configuration with thecorrugations extending lengthwise of the box.

Support 20 may include a lower cylindrical-like stationary member 22,and an upper cylindrical-like rotary member 24, with such upper memberbeing rotatably attached to said lower member as by means of pin 26which includes a head portion 26a received in a recess 28 in the uppermember 24, and a body portion 29 which extends through opening 30 in theupper member to be received in passageway 32 in the lower member. Pin 26may have a lower tapered portion 34 of reduced diameter which is adaptedfor coaction with a locking stud 36 extending snugly through opening 36ain the lower member 22, and into vertically holding coaction with thetapered portion 34 of pin 26, thus holding the upper member 24 coupledto the lower member 22, but permitting free rotary movement of the uppermember 24 with respect to member 22.

Upper rotary member 24 may have diametrically spaced openings 38extending completely therethrough and which open onto the upper surfaceof member 24, and are adapted to receive therein headed fastening means40 (FIGURE 2) which secure a bracket member 42 (FIG- URES 3, 7 and 8) tomember 24.

Bracket 42 may comprise a generally flat plate-like member of generallyelongated rectangular shape contiguration, with preferably a pair ofopposite corners thereof turned or bent downwardly as at 42a atapproximately 90 with respect to the plane of member 42. When the rotarymounting is in assembled relation with the mailbox, corner portions 42aare adapted to engage in flat surface-to-surface relation the interiorof lower lip 44 of the box formed by the conventional recessed bottomwall 18 of the box. Fastener means 46 (FIGURE 3) extending through thebox lip 44 may coact with the bent corner portions 42a, for securing themailbox to the bracket 42 and attached rotary support 20. Moreover,bracket 42 preferably has openings 48 (FIGURE 7) therethrough adjacentthe ends thereof which may receive other fastening means for securingthe bracket 42 to the underside of wall 18 of the box. A conventionalmailbox has openings in lip 44 just adjacent the location of bent cornerportions 42a with the inside surface of the lip, and the use of a washeror the like in overlapping holding relation with the associated bentcorner portion 42a provides a convenient and rapid arrangement forsecuring a box to bracket 42. Even if fastener means 46 happens lobecome loose, the caming coaction thereof with the adjacent sloping edgeof the respective bent corner portion insures that the box and bracketremain in assembled relation. Bracket 42 also has openings S0therethrough, which are adapted to receive the aforementioned fasteners40 securing the bracket to the upper rotary member 24. It will be seenthat openings 50 are disposed in a line extending parallel to the planesof the bent corner portions 42a.

The lower stationary member 22 has recesses 52 (FIG- URE 6) formedtherein which receive resilient means, such as springs 54. Springs 54abut against the lower end of the associated recess 52 and at theirupper ends, each spring supports a hardened ball or detent member 56which is adapted to be received within a confronting recess 58, 58a onthe underside of the rotary member 24. As can be best seen in FIGURE 5,each of such recesses 58, 58a is comprised of a generally dish-shapedcavity of substantial diameter as the outer cavity recipient of theassociated ball member. The included angle X (FIG- URE 4) of each ofrecesses 58, 58a may be approximately with the periphery of each ofrecesses 58, 58a preferably smoothly merging with the undersurface ofrotary member 24, so that there is no sudden step, but instead more orless of a blended juncture. Each recess 58, 58a preferably smoothlymerges with the associated opening 38 extending generally perpendicularto the associated recess.

As can be best seen in FIGURE 2, when the upper member 24 is assembledin attached but rotatable rotation with respect to the lower member 22,the detents 56 are adapted to be received in generally centeredrelationship inthe respective one of the recesses 58, 58a with the lowerportion of the ball detent being disposed in the associated opening 52in the lower member 22. The respective spring 54 urges the respectiveball detent upwardly and thus releasably holds the ball detent in itsassociated recess and in axially aligned relation with the associatedopening 38 in the upper member 22. However, upon application of alateral or rotary force to the box so as to rotate it, the smoothlytapered surfaces of the recesses 58, 58a coacting against the respectiveball detent forces the latter downwardly against the resistance tocompression of the associated spring 54, to permit the box to rotate,whereby the recesses 58, 58a move or rotate away from the respectiveball detent due to rotation of member 24. The box may continue to rotateuntil such time as each of the detents commences to move over thepreferably rounded edge of the upcoming recess 58, 58a, whereupon due tothe resistance to compression action of the spring, the box is thenautomatically swung into a position wherein the access door 14 eitherfaces forwardly toward the street or roadway, or faces rearwardly awayfrom the street or roadway. Accordingly, it will be seen that the recessmeans 58, 58a and detent means 56 not only provides an arrangement forreleasably holding the mailbox in predetermined position with respect tothe mounting 20 but also provides an arrangement for automaticallyindexing such box into such position, upon rotation of the box apredetermined amount, or in other words until the ball detent members`start to coact with the associated one of the recesses 58, 58a, toautomatically urge the box into a definite forwardly or rearwardlyfacing direction.

It will be noted that the center of each of recesses 58, 58a is disposedon the circumference of a circle, the center of which lies on the axisof rotary member 24, and which circumference is intersected by the axesof the openings 38 in member 24. In the embodiment illustrated, thediameters of recesses 58, 58a, each of which diameters passes throughthe axis of the respective opening 38, is such that the included angle Y(FIGURE 5) defining the range of coaction between the ball detents 56and the respective recess 58, 58a, approximately 90. The resistance tocompression of each of the spring :members is such that only arelatively slight force is required to rotate the box and attachedrotary member 24, and thus cause movement of the recesses 58, 58a withrespect to their associated detent members 56, and such force willordinarily cause the box to rotate a full 180. However, the resistanceto rotation of the box is such that wind forces will not ordinarilycause the box to rotate. Accordingly, if, for instance, the access door14 is facing the street or roadway R and upon application of sufficientrotary force to the box, the latter is caused to rotate 180 so that theaccess door 14 will face the rear, and it will be seen that automaticindexing or self-centering occurs before completion of 180 of movementdue to the coaction between the ball detents and the associate recesses58, 58a. If the applied force is such that the box tends to rotate pastthe 180 range, it will be seen that the coaction between the detents andthe recesses 58, 58a will automatically cause the box to back-up to the180 position, thus, in effect, providing .an approximate 90 automaticpositioner for each end of the box. When the detents 56, are notcoacting iwith the associated recesses 58, 58a, then the detents ridesmoothly on the smooth generally fiat undersurface of rotary member 24,intermediate the recesses 58, 58a.

It will be seen that the rotary mounting 20 may be assembled or mountedon a support such as for instance, post 62 adjacent the periphery of theroadway R, and may be attached to the post as by fastener means 64coacting with the beveled lower portion 66 of the stationary member 22of the mounting. The mounting 20 is so positioned on the support 62, sothat the axes of vertical openings 52 therein are disposed in a linearranged lgenerally perpendicular to the vertical plane of the peripheryof the confronting roadway, so that in the normal condition of themounting with the detents 56 disposed in centered relation in therespective recesses 58, 58a, the lengthwise axis of the box willlikewise be disposed generally perpendicular to the plane of theperiphery of the roadway.

The rotary mounting is preferably provided with a cupshaped shield 68(FIGURE 2) which may be formed of any suitable material such as forinstance, plastic, and which encases the upper rotary member 20 and thetop portion of the lower stationary member 22, so as to prevent foreignmatter, such as rain and snow from entering the juncture between theupper rotary member 24 and the lower stationary member 22 of the rotarymounting.

In this connection, shield 68 has an opening in the top wall thereof inwhich is received in snug fitting relation the upper shoulder portion 70(FIGURE 4) of the rotary member 24. Shield 68 is adapted to rotate withthe rotary member 24 and insures a long life and quiet and smoothoperation for the mounting. A lubricant is preferably inserted into thejuncture between the upper rotary member 24 and the lower stationarymember 22 upon assembly of the mounting, and shield 68 aids in retainingthe lubricant therein.

The access door 14 of the box may be provided with a brightly coloreddecal 76 thereon, so that after a mail carrier has inserted mail intothe box, he may rotatively flip the box so as to cause rotary movementthereof through 180, so that access door 14 and t-he brightly coloreddecal 76 mounted thereon, instead of facing the street, now facesrearwardly towards the dwelling. The resident merely by looking out hiswindow will be able to observe the decal and know that mail has beendelivered to his box, thus saving needless inspection trips to themailbox.

Referring now to FIGURE 9, there is shown a mailbox fwhich 'has an.access opening on each end thereof, with closures or doors 14' pivotedto the box as at 16, to close such access openings. Such closure doors14' may have `spring means 80 associated therewith for automaticallyclosing the respective door 14' after opening thereof. The box 10' ismounted on a rotary mounting 20 and associated mounting bracket 42, inthe same manner Ias aforedescribed for the first embodiment.

One advantage of the double door arrangement of box is that `if theresident after rotating the box from a forward roadway facing positionto a rearward position to remove mail therefrom without entering theroadway, forgets to rotate the box back to its forwardly facingposition, the box still has an access opening facing the roadway forinsertion of mail therein by the mail carrier, without the necessity ofthe mail carrier rotating the box back toward a forwardly facingposition. The double door box may have a decal on one of the doorsthereof in a similar manner as the first described embodiment forindicating to a resident that mail has been delivered.

It will be seen that in the embodiments illustrated, the mailboxes maybe rotated in either lateral direction, and through more than one 360revolution, without harming in any manner the rotary mounting. Moreover,in those environmental settings wherein an obstacle, such as a post orthe like may be disposed closely adjacent the rear of the box so as topossibly interfere rwith the removal of mail from the access door (e.g.,14 or 14') Iwhen the box has been rotated a full 180, convenient accessto the box may be had by rotating the box away from such interferingobstacle a sufficient amount so that access to the box via the selectedclosure door may be readily had.

From the foregoing discussion and accompanying drawings it will be seenthat the invention provides a novel mounting for a mailbox and one whichenables pivoting or rotation of the box from a street or roadway facingposition to a generally rearwardly facing position, to eliminate theusual necessity of stepping into the roadway, and which includes meansfor releasably positioning the box in centered relationship eitherfacing forwardly or rearfwardly, and |which includes means forautomatically moving the box into such positions after rotary movementof the box a predeteremined amount.

The terms and expressions which have been used are used as terms ofdescription and not of limitation, and there is no intention in the useof such terms and expressions of excluding any equivalents of any of thefeatures shown or described, or portions thereof, and it is recognizedthat various modifications are possible Within the scope of theinvention claimed.

We claim:

1. A rotatable mounting for a mailbox or the like comprising, a firstmember adapted for attachment to the box, a second member mounting saidfirst member thereon for rotary movement of said first member withrespect to said second member, diametrically spaced vertically actingspring loaded detent means on one of said members adapted for coactionwith complementary diametrically spaced detent receiving means on theother of said members for releasably holding said first member in atleast two 180-degree opposed positions with respect to said secondmember, and means for automatically indexing said first member into saidpositions with respect to said second member through a predeterminedrange of movement of said rst member with respect to said second member,and pivot means coacting 4between said first and second members andcoupling said first member to said second member for rotary movementwith respect thereto, said pivot means having tapered means thereoncoacting with holding means projecting generally transversely of saidsecond member and into engaging coaction with said tapered means forcoupling said members together against Vertical separation andmaintaining compression on said spring loaded detent means for properrotary movement of said first member with respect to said second member.

2. A mounting in accordance with claim 1 wherein said spring loadeddetent means includes a spring member mounted in a recess in said secondmember and a ball member coacting with the spring member in said recessand being urged upwardly with respect thereto by said spring member,said detent receiving means comprising a downwardly facing opening inthe underside of said first member adapted for coacting with said ballmember in centering relationship thereto so as to releasably positionsaid first member with respect to said second member in said positions,and said means for automatically indexing said iirst member into saidpositions comprising down wardly facing cup-shaped recesses in theunderside of said rst member with the axes of said cup-shaped recessesbeing disposed coincident with the axis of the respective opening andwith said cup-shaped recesses merging with the respective of saidopenings.

3. A mounting in accordance with claim 2 wherein said cup-shapedrecesses are of such size that said automatic indexing occurs through arotatable range of said iirst member with respect to said second memberof approximately 90.

4. A rotatable mounting for a mailbox or the like, comprising a firstmember adapted for attachment to the box, a second member mounting saidfirst member thereon for rotary movement of said first member withrespect to said second member, means on one of said member adapted forcoaction with means on the other of said members for releasably holdingsaid first member in at least one predetermined position with respect tosaid second member, and means for automatically indexing said rst memberinto said predetermined position with respect to said second memberthrough a predetermined range of movement of said first member withrespect to said second member, an elongated bracket secured to saidfirst member, said bracket having means thereon for attaching the sameto a mailbox, said bracket being of generally rectangular plate-likeconiiguration with a pair of opposite corners thereof bent downwardly atapproximately 90 to the plane of said plate, and fastener means securingsaid bracket to said rst member, said downwardly bent corner portionsbeing adapted for abutting relation with the interior of the lip on thebottom of a mailbox, and providing said means for attaching the bracketto the mailbox.

5. A mounting in accordance with claim 4 including shield meansencompassing the juncture between said iirst and second members, forpreventing entrance of foreign material therebetween.

6. A rotatable mounting in accordance with claim 4 including thecombination therewith of a mailbox secured to said first member forrotation therewith, said box comprising an elongated body portion havingan access opening at each end of said body portion, and openable closuremeans for each of said access openings.

7. A rotatable mounting in accordance with claim 4 including thecombination therewith of a mailbox secured to said first member, saidbox comprising a body portion having an access opening at one endthereof, an openable closure means for said access opening, and means onsaid closure means visually apparent for ready observation at a distancewhereby it can be visually determined whether the mailbox is disposed insaid predetermined position.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 839,607 12/1906 Lanier 248-1451,170,030 2/ 1916 Wilcox 248-145 1,358,756 1 1/ 1920 Kozlowski 248-3491,634,922 7/ 1927 Stubblebine et al. 248-418 1,666,392 4/ 1928 Masury248-418 2,017,944 10/ 1935 Braley 211-163 2,609,787 9/ 1952 Lawson232-34 2,654,534 10/ 1953 Van Meter 232-34 2,829,777 4/ 1958Berardinelli 211-163 3,106,335 10/1963 Allan 232-17 3,107,891 10/ 1963Burke 248-417 FRANCIS K. ZUGEL, Primary Examiner.

